Think one of the best ways to track IV growth for Berkshire, is to measure Op Earnings and liquid assets per share over the years. Since 2007 (right before GFC), OP Earnings have grown by 12.5% and liquid assets by 9.1%. Operating Earnings per Share, 12.5% cagr since 2007. Significant help from BNSF and BHE. Also one time bump from the 2018 tax reform.

Buffett at 91, is still an impressive and unique investor. His moves are completely different from the crowd, major hedge funds, gurus, etc. 3 recent examples from the last 5 years: Japan Trading Companies: bought 5% of some of these large complicated companies from a foreign country. No one was looking at these names. I still don`t know get much of what they do, not even trying to understand the financials of these businesses.

It is no secret that value investing is buying something for less than it is worth. That can be a statistically cheap asset, a growth stock, a distressed bond. Bottom line, is buying something that is worth more than what you are paying for. Some of Buffett's best investments have been in highly profitable companies that were growing at decent rates. This is different than buying a cigar butt, low P/E, P/B, etc.

Some things on investing: 1) Over time, companies that focus on serving there customers tend to do well. Those that are extracting value from a monopolistic position end up in trouble. 2) Every company goes through difficult periods. As investors, we need to build conviction by understanding each business we invest in. That will help you remain calm during these episodes. You can also buy low and if appropriate make big bets at the right time.

I know $BRK is a boring name and most are not interested in this, but here I try to provide some sense of value (equity not EV) for certain subsidiaries: BNSF--$75bn (18x fcf or 12x EBT). This is a 10% discount to the EV of UNP. For 2016, BNSF had EBIT of $6.6bn compared to $7.2bn for UNP.